SoulCalibur III

"Welcome to the 4th stage of history..."

Now here's the thing. Why is it when there's something we want, we always try to justify and talk our selves out of getting it? We seek opinions from others to help validate our final decisions – but we find ourselves going in circles. I know you're in this situation and state of mind, hence why you're reading this; One of many reviews you've read on this game. No doubt you're placed in doubt as to whether to buy this, due to the lacklustre reviews this game has received since its release. Well let good ol' Jasill help ease that doubt.

Buy the damn game.

Now let me tell ya why…

Now reader; I assume you've played either Soul Calibur 1 or Soul Calibur 2 - so I'll spare you the low down on the characters roster, the premise of the game… *blah blah blah* and sink straight into the new features and the stuff you'll wanna know.

/// New features ///
The much talked about aspects of this game are the all new game modes. Both of which are interesting on paper, but aren't executed brilliantly.

First off is “Tales of the sword” – which is Soul Calibur's fancy name for “Story mode”. You pick a character, read lots of uninteresting text, fight and make a decision here and there (which doesn't have much impact on the story other than who you'll fight next). This mode isn't anything special and it the least enjoyable mode in the game. But considering that the extra characters are unlocked in this mode – you WILL have to dedicate some time to it. *Booo!!!*

Next is the “Soul Arena”. Now where-as before you had special match set-up's pop up within the “Edge master” and “Mission” mode's – now they are all placed within the “Soul Arena.” It's a nice change of pace and adds some variation - however, the AI is extremely aggressive and it causes some stages to be near impossible to pass.

Now – for the big addition: the “Character creation”. A lot of the options for creating your fighter are fairly customizable, but the end result is always a character that pales in comparison to the existing cast in terms of move sets and looks. This is a pretty cool feature and for what it is, it's good. But higher detail on the create-a-character models would've been more welcome. (Maybe next time, huh?)

Second of all is “Chronicle of the sword”. This is a *cough* “real-time strategy game” with ya standard match set-up's thrown in to break up the action. Now the idea behind this mode is good, but the execution isn't always brilliant. Lengthy loading times and slow down on the field map dampers the experience greatly.

It just feels far too generic at times in order for it to be any real fun. It's just: point, click, fight - point, click, fight – repeat! It is a nice deviation and it's pretty cool to fight with a cast of new characters you've never seen before. But as you fly through this mode, the repetition gets to you and you find yourself forced to play it simply because near enough ALL of the “Character creation” bonuses are unlocked in this mode. And I warn you, to make the most of the "Character creation" mode and get some real cool looking characters you will HAVE to work this mode!

It's a shame; because if executed better, this mode could've been special. If Namco can get this mode running a lot tighter, I'd welcome it in Soul Calibur 4. I take my hat off to Namco for at least trying something new. It's easily one of the more interesting new modes within the game.

/// Graphics ///
I think it goes without saying that the graphics in this game are amazing. It may not be entirely evident in still shots, but this game is easier on the eye than Soul Calibur 2. Animations are a lot more fluid and the weapons effects and in-game pyrotechnics more elaborate. But the star of the graphical show has to be the backgrounds. The amount of depth and detail to the backgrounds is astounding to say the least. The artistic license some of these stages sport put the likes of Dead or alive 4 to shame. Keep ya crappy little beaches and city rooftops – take me to the burning Toledo and the destroyed temple with the meteors raining down please!!!

Even 6 years on, the PS2 is still able to display graphics to contend with more recent consoles. Namco delivering outstanding graphics is a given, but it's worth a mention none the less that Soul Calibur 3 is a great looking game.

/// Audio ///
Soul Calibur 3 exploits Dolby pro logic II and THX for those fortunate enough to sport a surround system which support ‘em.

The Soul series has always excelled some-what when it comes to the sound department and this game is no different. The music isn't as memorable as “Soul Blade” or “Soul Calibur 1” – but is still brilliantly composed and the voice acting is very well done… (In Japanese at least!)

/// That difficulty issue… ///
The game's AI can be ridiculous at times – I'm talking Mortal Kombat ridiculous. Soul Calibur III's computer controlled opponents can go from sitting ducks, to blade rapists in between rounds and this is frustrating to say the least. Also, the lack of a difficulty setting within the games main modes means there's nothing to remedy this. Way to alienate new audiences Namco. *clap…..clap…..clap* This doesn't so much as offer a challenge as it does make the game feel unfair. This also exposes the imbalances within many of the characters. I've lost count at the amount of times I've gone toe-to-toe with Setsuka and had her hand me my A-double-S on a plate.

/// If it ain't broken... ///
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a term Namco know all too well. Little has changed in terms of how Soul Calibur plays, but there ARE changes and additions, all of which are un-welcomed. The recovery times are now even worse than before. This was something which plagued Soul Calibur 2. If Soul Calibur 2's recovery times had the plague, then Soul Calibur 3's recovery times are already dead – which is what you'll be because of ‘em.

There are far too many moves which stun players and leave them open to further attacks. I've lost count of the amount of times I was at the mercy of a KO because a move stunned me for so long that it gave the computer a gaping window to open a can o' beat-down. The odd move which causes stuns can be given a bly, but when near enough EVERY move leaves you stunned, it gets annoying real quick.

Also, you may find that many of the characters you knew and loved have gone through some changes. Every character has been given some brand spanking new moves (“YAY!”) …and the old moves have been given new input commands. (“Boo!!”) This is frustrating to say the least. Having played Soul Calibur 1 and 2, I thought I could pick my fave character and storm through the game - wrong…WRONG!!! Those of you who became accustomed to characters in Soul Calibur 2 best be prepared to re-learn a few moves. Ivy doesn't even control even remotely the way she did in Soul Calibur 2. She was a character I knew through and through in Soul Calibur 2, now I can't use her and find myself spending more time trailing through the command menu than actually playing the game.

Fortunately, not all the characters have had their move sets altered, but many have; so be prepared to have to teach your old dog, the same old tricks all over again.

/// Overall ///
Soul Calibur 3 is a good game and a solid one at that. The whole package feels a lot tighter than Soul Calibur 2 and to a certain extent, Soul Calibur 1. However, the juxtaposition of this game feels off at times. Such as the way you have to create a character for the “Chronicle of the sword” mode and level this character up, but this character cannot be exported into other modes. And on the flip side, a character created outside of the “Chronicle of the sword” mode cannot be imported into “Chronicle of the sword.” As for the difficulty – it can't be set for the game's main single player modes; which means that you have to bare the instances when the computer decides it's gonna have you up every-which-way. The major imbalance in some of the characters is also still an issue. The new characters in particular are far too powerful, with speed to match. It's also worth mentioning that the swiftness and flow of Soul Calibur 1's matches seems to have degraded within the last 2 titles – which is a shame. But in saying that, this is a lot more fun and more enjoyable than Soul Calibur 2.

Namco's decision to also make it PS2 exclusive indefinitely was a stupid one. Introducing GameCube and X-Box owners to Soul Calibur and then slapping them in the face is not a good move. To not release this game simultaneously is one thing, but to rule out ports of this game flat-out is dumb. Many of Soul Calibur 3's technical issues such as: Slow down, lengthy loading times and the infamous data save corruption issue could've been fixed and ironed out on X-Box and GameCube versions of the game.

Negativity aside, Soul Calibur 3 is a grand game. It isn't the revolutionary game many may have been hoping for, but it is a better game than Soul Calibur 2 and a definite throwback to Soul Calibur 1 – from the unlockables, to the return of classic stages and music themes.

If you are a fan of the series, I'd still say “pick this up.” Especially considering that this game now retails at £19.99. But just don't go expecting anything majorly new – just more of what you know and love.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/06